Revisit THE RED SHOES

A couple of weeks ago we raised the age old question, what makes a film a classic.

Of course one of the main criteria is if a film passes the test of time. The Red Shoes, released in 1948, has certainly done that! In fact it inspired filmmakers like Brian DePalma, MartinScorsere, Antonioni, and others. Why? watch it and see.

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s classic incorporates expressionistic elements in its sets, costumes and cinematography. The plot is simple. It’s the story of a young dancer (Moira Shearer) torn between her love for a young man and her love of dance.

But the way the film is shot and especially the dance sequence near the end of the film which brings the dancer’s subconscious thoughts and fears into focus, makes the film one of the first Psychedelic features ever made.

The Red Shoes, is, of course, based on the Hans ChristianAndersen fairy tale about a young girl whose red shoes possess her to dance to death.